Oil prices slid on Wednesday as industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles rose more than expected and on worries a rebound in COVID-19 cases in top importer China would hurt fuel demand.
Brent crude futures fell 44 cents, or 0.5%, to $94.92 a barrel by 0454 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 53 cents, or 0.6%, to $88.38 a barrel. The benchmarks fell around 3% on Tuesday.
Last week, the market had latched on to hopes that China might be moving toward relaxing COVID restrictions but over the weekend health officials said they would stick to theirCOVID cases in Guangzhou and other Chinese cities have surged, with the global manufacturing hub becoming the country's newest COVID epicentre.
CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng said despite tight supply in the physical markets, China's slowdown in demand has a major impact on the oil futures markets. The market will be looking out for official U.S. inventory data from the Energy Information Administration due at 10:30 a.m. EST for a further view on demand in the world's biggest economy.
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